Join ARC at our annual Holiday Open House. Enjoy an assortment of delicious vegan cheese, non-alcoholic wine, and other beverages. Meet other people who care about animals and browse for animal friendly holiday gifts from our great selection of unique merchandise. Location is the ARC office/Ethique Nouveau, 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis from 1:00-4:00 p.m. RSVP at Vegan Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/vegan-415

Join ARC at our annual Holiday Open House. Enjoy an assortment of delicious vegan cheese, non-alcoholic wine, and other beverages. Meet other people who care about animals and browse for animal friendly holiday gifts from our great selection of unique merchandise. Location is the ARC office/Ethique Nouveau, 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis from 1:00-4:00 p.m. RSVP at Vegan Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/vegan-415

Join Shawn and learn how to make fun holiday foods, including raspberry beer bread. This is a demo class with sampling. Class is $12 for co-op members and $15 for non-members.Location is Mississippi Market, 1500 W 7th St. in St. Paul from 10:00 a.m. to noon. RSVP at Vegan Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/vegan-415/events/235882433/

Join Shawn and learn how to make fun holiday foods, including raspberry beer bread. This is a demo class with sampling. Class is $12 for co-op members and $15 for non-members.Location is Mississippi Market, 1500 W 7th St. in St. Paul from 10:00 a.m. to noon. RSVP at Vegan Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/vegan-415/events/235882433/

Are you newly vegan, know someone who is, or looking to expand your plant-based diet? Join Megan, one of our vegan mentors, as you\'re guided on a tour of Whole Foods, 222 Hennepin Ave. in Minneapolis (meet near the customer service desk). You’ll learn simple tips for reading labels, discover products you\'ve overlooked in the past, and have your questions on veganism answered. We will also discuss how to become a more environmentally friendly shopper. With help from Megan, you can make ethically sound and health-conscious choices about what you eat! RSVP at Vegan Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/vegan-415

Are you newly vegan, know someone who is, or looking to expand your plant-based diet? Join Megan, one of our vegan mentors, as you're guided on a tour of Whole Foods, 222 Hennepin Ave. in Minneapolis (meet near the customer service desk). You’ll learn simple tips for reading labels, discover products you've overlooked in the past, and have your questions on veganism answered. We will also discuss how to become a more environmentally friendly shopper. With help from Megan, you can make ethically sound and health-conscious choices about what you eat! RSVP at Vegan Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/vegan-415

The social pressures of being vegan are more pronounced during special occasions such as holidays, birthdays, religious ceremonies, and other food-based events. Sometimes there is pressure to represent veganism, but doing so positively and easily can be challenging for some, especially if it\'s your first major event as a vegan. This workshop is a place to discuss how to talk to others about why you\'re eating what you\'re eating at a significant social gathering (and decide whether you should say anything at all).
We will also review a list of common social issues specific to special occasions. Vegans often feel social pressure to represent themselves and the movement, and this workshop is a place where you can learn how to find a middle ground between representing veganism, but also not placing too much of a burden on yourself. Please feel free to bring questions and situations that you would like to discuss. Workshop is at the ARC office/Ethique Nouveau at 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis. RSVP at Vegan Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/vegan-415

The social pressures of being vegan are more pronounced during special occasions such as holidays, birthdays, religious ceremonies, and other food-based events. Sometimes there is pressure to represent veganism, but doing so positively and easily can be challenging for some, especially if it's your first major event as a vegan. This workshop is a place to discuss how to talk to others about why you're eating what you're eating at a significant social gathering (and decide whether you should say anything at all).
We will also review a list of common social issues specific to special occasions. Vegans often feel social pressure to represent themselves and the movement, and this workshop is a place where you can learn how to find a middle ground between representing veganism, but also not placing too much of a burden on yourself. Please feel free to bring questions and situations that you would like to discuss. Workshop is at the ARC office/Ethique Nouveau at 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis. RSVP at Vegan Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/vegan-415

We are receiving lots of fur donations for our Cuddle Coats program and want to ship them to our wildlife rehab partners as soon as possible. Meet at the ARC office (co-located with Ethique Nouveau) at 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis at 6:00 pm to help prep fur coats and accessories for shipment. Wear clothes that can get a little fuzzy. This is a great, low key way to volunteer and meet some of the other people in the group while helping to save animal lives.

We are receiving lots of fur donations for our Cuddle Coats program and want to ship them to our wildlife rehab partners as soon as possible. Meet at the ARC office (co-located with Ethique Nouveau) at 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis at 6:00 pm to help prep fur coats and accessories for shipment. Wear clothes that can get a little fuzzy. This is a great, low key way to volunteer and meet some of the other people in the group while helping to save animal lives.

The Animal Rights Coalition operates Ethique Nouveau; a vegan boutique, where all purchases help fund our animal advocacy programs, at 317 W. 48th St. in Minneapolis. The ARC office is located at the same address.

This year’s winning recipes were Judges’ Choice Zen Pizza Hotdish by Mary Montoya (two time winner!) and Audience Favorite Fresh Veggie Casserole by Sadie Schrader (who also won for Best Church Lady Attire). Mary and Sadie each received a custom casserole with their winning titles etched into the casserole lid. Recipes are here.

Countdown to the Fourth Annual Vegan Hotdish Cookoff

March 2nd, 2016

Join us for a delicious time at the Twin Cities Vegan Hotdish Cookoff on Sunday, March 20 from 1:00-4:00 p.m at the Fuller Park Recreation Center, 48th St. and Grand Ave. in Minneapolis. Local cooks will compete for Audience Choice and Judge’s Choice prize categories. Our judges are Glam Doll Donuts owners Arwyn and Teresa; last year’s Audience Choice winner, Megan Duke; and Compassionate Action for Animals Executive Director, Unny Nambudiripad.

Come and support ARC while tasting a variety of delicious hotdishes for only $1 per sample. Free beverages will be provided and there will be lots of great door prizes. Your best Church Lady attire is welcome, but not required, and we’ll even have a prize for the Best Church Lady Attire. We have a few contestant spots still open so enter to show off your down home hotdish cooking skills for a chance to win one of several fabulous prizes! All contestants will receive a limited edition hotdish cookoff coffee mug and a $10 gift certificate to Ethique Nouveau. Email Chelsea at chelsea@animalrightscoalition.com if you’re inspired to enter.

#Not Your Trophy

February 26th, 2016

This past fall, trophy hunting came to the startled attention of Minnesotans with the killing of Cecil the Lion by a Twin Cities dentist. Death by Safari may seem like a nightmare from our colonial past, but it is very much alive, and coming (back) to the Twin Cities. On February 26 and 27, the Minnesota Safari Club International is holding a convention at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest in Brooklyn Park that celebrates trophy hunting as an animal-loving conservation movement. Huh? All of Safari Club’s “BIG 5″ are on the endangered or threatened species list, and supporting the Safari Club supports the slaughter of the last of our elephants, lions, rhinos, leopards, and water buffalo.

If the thought of nature’s most majestic animals gunned down for game and glory makes you angry, please join the Animal Rights Coalition, Minnesota Animal Liberation, and CompassionWorks International on the sidewalk outside the Marriott at 7025 Northland Drive North for a legal protest on Saturday, February 27 from 10am to 1pm. (The local authorities have asked us to park in the warehouse parking lot just across Northland Drive from the hotel.) You don’t have to say or do anything; just stand with us, hold a sign if you are able. (Signs will be provided.) Let the Minnesota Safari Club and big game hunters know that there is nothing sportsman-like about killing animals to make wall hangings.

For Pete’s sake, we live in Minnesota. Exotic animals should only come to our homes on the pages of National Geographic. Trophy animals – hung above the mantle? That’s just carnage. It’s sad indeed that our own Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has a booth at this festival of killing.

UNFILTERED: Sue Coe, Nancy Robinson, and the Guerilla Girls

February 19th, 2016

Please join the Animal Rights Coalition at Instinct Art Gallery, 940 Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis on Saturday, February 20, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. for vegan hors d’oeuvres, violin music, and mingling amidst the exhibition, UNFILTERED: Sue Coe, Nancy Robinson and the Guerrilla Girls. Instinct will be donating 10% from the sale of artwork during this event to the Animal Rights Coalition.

The UNFILTERED artists are activists across a range of issues including Animal Rights, Feminism, and Personal Identity, and Sue Coe is one of the foremost activist artists working today. She is known around the world for exposing human-inflicted tragedies. Her art is graphic and intense, and her topics include the atrocities of slaughterhouses, war, and imperialism.

These artists put themselves on the line to shape the world around them. They use different strategies and art forms, take aim at different aspects of our humanness, and present themselves in very different personas. What unites them is their bravery to be who they are in the face of what we, as a society, are. They are unrestrained voices in a sea of well-mannered voices.

Suggest ARC’s Vegan University for your Employee Health Fair

February 3rd, 2016

Chelsea and Ryan doing food sampling at a recent employee health fair

If your employer has an annual health fair, suggest ARC’s Vegan University as a vendor. Here’s a sample email you can use that resulted in ARC doing food sampling at a recent corporate health fair and also becoming a regular provider of literature on veganism to several personal trainers for their clients.

“Just saw an email about the upcoming health fair and wanted to suggest the organization I volunteer with for the fair. We have a program called Vegan University that promotes plant-based eating with food sampling and literature. We offer regular free grocery shopping tours at local co-ops and markets like Whole Foods, Byerly’s, and Rainbow, and regular free workshops about adopting a plant-based diet. We’ve been at several employee health fairs; for example, we had tables at the CIGNA and SGI employee health fairs, and regularly have booths at community events such as the Diabetes Expo and Healthy Life Expo.

So am emailing to see if this would be of interest for the health fair. I’m sure you’re aware that there has been an explosion of interest in plant-based eating in the last several years, whether people are interested in reducing animal products in their diet for health reasons or in going vegan.”

Email chelsea@animalrightscoalition.com if your employer is interested in Vegan University being at their health fair.

Macaws Don’t Belong in a Car Wash

January 13th, 2016

4 out of 6 Paradise Car Washes in the Twin Cities surrounding areas keep a Macaw as a resident “pet”. The birds live at the Savage, Apple Valley, Eagan, and East Bloomington stores. Their names are Ruby, Peanut, Speedy, and Rainbow. According to employees, the birds are in the car wash 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have been for their entire lives.

Knowledgeable observers say the birds show signs of stress, exacerbated by being handled by the public (despite signs asking they not be handled) and by the exuberance of children and dogs who come into the car washes. Issues range from behaviors demonstrating depression to excessive feather plucking (sometimes down to bare skin). There appears to be little to no enrichment such as toys and activities provided.

Macaws live in their natural habitat for around 70 years, and they mate for life. These birds deserve a better life, and the companionship of others of their species.

Ask Paradise Car Wash to relinquish these birds to a qualified, expert rescue, and do not support this business until this occurs. Contact info for Paradise Car Wash locations: Savage (952) 890-7755, Eagan (651) 456-0000, Apple Valley (952) 431-4600, and East Bloomington (952) 888-5388. Please like and share the Facebook page for these birds.

A Well-Fed World’s PLANTS-4-HUNGER program provides a more compassionate and nutritious gift-giving alternative, sending 100% of your gift to four hand-picked plant-based programs that feed people without using animals.

The four projects support vegan school lunch programs in Ethiopia, provide non-GMO soybeans to farming families in Guatemala, deliver warm meals to those most in need in India, and plant community food gardens in the United States. These programs provide both immediate assistance and long-term community solutions to improve food security and nutrition.

Animal Friendly Holiday Events

December 11th, 2015

Join ARC at one of our tastiest events, the Annual Holiday Cookie Exchange. This is a great opportunity to find new recipes or get goodies to feed holiday guests. To participate, bake 4 dozen of one type of vegan cookie (vegan means no dairy, eggs, butter, or other animal products). Bring a copy of your recipe or email it to chelsea@animalrightscoalition.com. RSVP at Vegan Meetup or the Facebook event page. Event is at 317 W 48th St. on Saturday, 12/12 from 12-2 p.m.

Also this weekend is the ARC North Vegans Holiday Potluck on Sunday, 12/13 from 3:30-6:00 p.m. at the Parkway United Church of Christ Community Room, 3120 Washburn Ave. N in Minneapolis. RSVP at Vegan Meetup or the Facebook event page.

Note that the ARC office and Ethique Nouveau, our 100% all vegan store, will have special holiday hours in addition to our regular hours (Wednesday noon-8, Thursday and Friday noon-6, and Saturday noon-5). We will also be open Sundays on December 13 and 20 from 11-3. And we will be open on Monday, December 21 and Tuesday, December 22 from 1-6.